Brooke L. Rollins

Rule Changes

Backing the executive order

President Trump signed an executive order Sept. 4 directing the Interior Department to determine whether gray wolves and Mexican gray wolves have recovered enough to lose Endangered Species Act protections. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has 90 days to decide whether to begin delisting the animals, a process that would shift wolf management from federal to state control.

Updated 5 days ago

Force in Play

Leading the federal screwworm response

Two calves in Zavala County, Texas, have tested positive for New World screwworm in the first US detections since 1966. The initial case was confirmed June 3; a second followed five miles away two days later. Governor Greg Abbott declared a statewide disaster on June 5, warning Texans to prepare for an "extraordinarily challenging summer."

Updated Jun 8

Force in Play

Suspended $129 million in USDA awards to Minnesota on January 10, 2026

On January 5, 2026, Governor Tim Walz announced he would drop his bid for a third term. The reversal came just two days before a contentious January 7 House Oversight Committee hearing where Republican state lawmakers testified that Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison ignored widespread fraud and silenced whistleblowers.

Updated May 21

Money Moves

Overseeing 2025 farm aid and trade mitigation programs

Since 2018, U.S. farmers have been caught in Trump-era tariff battles—first the U.S.–China trade war, now tariffs on China, Canada, Mexico, and others. To counter lost exports and depressed prices, the Trump administrations funded large farm aid through the Agriculture Department's Commodity Credit Corporation: $12 billion in 2018, $16 billion in 2019.

Updated May 10